Those who know me, know that I’m not really a fan of manifestos.  I generally find them to be somewhat pompous and think that the time spent writing them could’ve almost always been better spent actually realizing the contents thereof.  And yet, here I am writing one of my own.

On top of that, I find New Years resolutions to be less than useful for a variety of reasons.  So, consider this the combination Pizza Hut/Taco Bell of manifestos/resolutions.  This is me, determining what and whom I want to become, starting in 2012, and publishing it for everyone to see, so that I might put myself at risk of incurring the manifesto nerd-rage of the entire internet, should I punk out.  (Failure is an option.  Quitting is not.)

My philosophy behind doing this is two-fold:

1. I’m writing it because I need a clear picture.
2. I’m publishing it because I want accountability.

In reading this, you may think that I’m talking to you (probably due, in no small part, to my ubiquitous use of the pronoun “you”).  But I’m not.  I’m me, giving me orders.  If you should find this the least bit useful, cool.  If not, cool.  But please keep in mind that it wasn’t written for you.

And with that, I bring you… HackerHaus Manifesto 2012: Year of the Dragon Edition

Commit.
Fear is irrelevant.  “Hard” is a cop out.  Figure out what you need to do and do it.  I recently read the following:  “Do what you need to do so you can do what you want to do.”  I don’t know who wrote it, but there it is.

Listen.
As much as possible, attempt to see and hear the world through the eyes and ears of others.  Prove yourself wrong at every possible occasion and adjust accordingly.

Be less of a dick. 
Work on recognizing when you intellectually, emotionally, and physically bully those who don’t deserve it (intentionally or not), and knock that shit off.  (However, keep the power to intimidate in reserve, just in case someone actually does need it.)  If someone asks for your opinion, dole it out sparingly.  If they don’t, zip it.  The motto:  When in doubt, shut the fuck up.

Be more awesome.
This doesn’t mean “try harder to look cool to others.”  This means “be the most awesome you you can be.”  The idea is to become the person that you, not necessarily others, would find completely awesome to be around.

Take better care of yourself. 
This extends to not only the physical, but spiritual, emotional, intellectual, nutritional, creative, and inquisitive realms as well.

Take better care of others.
‘Nuff said.

Learn at least one new human language.
Chinese, German, Arabic, Korean, and Spanish are options.  You don’t have to become fluent, nor do you have to have designs on traveling to a particular place.  Just do it for the sake of doing it.

Work on the human languages you already speak.
English, French, Russian, and Japanese.  You know your handwritten kanji blows, that your vocabulary is limited, that you’ve forgotten a lot of verb and grammar rules from Russian, and that your French has gone to crap.  You know it.  Now get to work.

Fail creatively.  And often.
Create.  Create more.  Finish things.  Spend more time with your guitar.  Write music. Finish music.  Record music.  Let people hear that music.  Write something.  Realize creative endeavors.  Creativity doesn’t mean shit if it remains trapped between your ears.

Finish school.  Start school.
Finish and defend your masters thesis, then commit to a PhD program and beat it into submission.

Learn how to plan better.

Clean your damn house.
This goes for maintaining your yard, too, smart ass.  Tackle tasks as they arise (before, if possible), not after they become monumental.

Get rid of unnecessary stuff.
Physical, emotional, mental, metaphorical.

Chop wood, carry water.
Do the practice, walk the walk, regardless of what the practice is.  Whether it’s Budo, playing scales, learning new songs, reading research papers, writing research papers, or practicing kanji.  Just shut up and do it.

Spend more time with your teachers and mentors.
And listen to them.

Get your shit together.
Look into the future career options you have been mulling over and start doing something concrete about it.  You know damned well you want to travel, experience new cultures, and learn more languages.  You’re not getting any younger… make it happen.

Spend more time with loved ones.
In the end, nothing in this world is more important.  If the measure of a man is the quality of the people who choose to share their life with you, then you’re doing pretty damned well.

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This is a sudden drop in blood pressure when you stand up from a sitting position or if you stand up after lying down. Ordinarily, gravity causes blood to pool in your legs whenever you stand. Your body compensates for this by increasing your heart rate and constricting blood vessels, thereby ensuring that enough blood returns to your brain. But in people with postural hypotension, this compensating mechanism fails and blood pressure falls, leading to symptoms of dizziness, lightheadedness, blurred vision and even fainting.

Postural hypotension can occur for a variety of reasons, including dehydration, prolonged bed rest, pregnancy, diabetes, heart problems, burns, excessive heat, large varicose veins and certain neurological disorders. A number of medications can also cause postural hypotension, particularly drugs used to treat high blood pressure — diuretics, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors — as well as antidepressants and drugs used to treat Parkinson’s disease and erectile dysfunction.

Postural hypotension is especially common in older adults, with as many as 20 percent of those over age 65 experiencing postural hypotension. But postural hypotension can also affect young, otherwise healthy people who stand up suddenly after sitting with their legs crossed for long periods or after working for a time in a squatting position. Postural hypotension is generally harmless in young people.

[Courtesy of MayoClinic.com]

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I’m off to go cry now.

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Several people have asked me why I’m doing this, and I couldn’t come up with a good answer. So, I did what I always do… I retired to my mountain-top cave to meditate. After spending what seemed like minutes buried in deep thought, I believe that I may finally have boiled it down to the following three reasons:

1. It’s good for my body. It’s a helluva work out for the arms, shoulders, and abs, and should serve me well on my path toward attaining hotness.
2. It’s difficult. I need something that is difficult… something to challenge me. Many things come rather easy to me… languages… then there’s… ummm… there’s… languages… Anyway, my point is that I needed a challenge in an area that was actually challenging to me.
3. I don’t want to do it. What better reason could I possibly have for doing this? The very fact that I don’t want to do it, but am still doing it anyway, shows that I’m on the road to inculcating myself with more self-discipline. Yay me.
4. There is no 4th reason.

As I keep telling other people… there’s only one way through it: through it.

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10 x 2
8 x 1
6 x 1
max (15) x 1

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Q.  Why am I doing this?

A.  How the hell should I know?  Why did I start doing yoga?  Why have I been eating better, exercising, and starting to face heretofore crippling fears?  I guess I just want to change who I am. I want to inculcate myself with a new self-image and more discipline.  I want to strengthen my core, shape my abs, lose weight, fix my shoulder problems, and start packing some sexy guns.

I want to be hot for a change.

I grew up scrawny and weak.  I barely weighed 140 lbs when I entered basic training at the age of 17.  At my peak weight, I cracked the scales at 250+ lbs.  Now, after altering my diet and increasing my activity level, I’ve managed to work my way back down to 225 lbs.  I’m still not where I want to be, but I’m on a path.

Q.  Why would I post something like this where the public-at-large can see it?

A.  Because I want you to hold me accountable.

Here’s how it works.  Today, I did their assessment test.  My total number of “good form” push ups was 20.  Since I’m under 40, this puts me nicely in the middle of rank 3 and establishes which training program I fit into.  In the coming weeks, I’ll post my results.  Once I reach 100 push ups, I’ll let you know.

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So here it is… my progress so far.  The top photo was taken back in January.  The bottom was taken yesterday.  The angles are a bit different, but the progress is evident. I’m not going to freak anyone out at a party any time soon, but I am proud of myself.

I’m doing this on my own, without an actual yoga teacher, so I’m careful not to screw things up.  If any of you out there among my 4 readers are actual yoga teachers, I’d love to hear critique or advice you may feel inclined to share.

01.14.08

06.24.08

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